True Strength
by Empathetic Army Brat
Summary: Cepheus Albiore learns and reflects on Shun's true strength. Scene spoiler, but nothing major. Rated T just to be safe.


**Author's Note (There's one at the end too.)**

**The section of the story that is a flashback ****is actually a scene in the anime, but it's in Cepheus Albiore's point of view. If you want to see it, it's in episode 70 when Shun was having a flashback in his battle against Pisces Aphrodite.**

**Disclaimer **

**I don't own Saint Seiya, any of the characters, or Andromeda Island. I'm just a fan. **

* * *

I sat at the desk in my stone hut thinking about the potential Andromeda Saints. As a trainer and a Saint of Athena I am obligated to choose the best one that can fulfill my goddess's wishes, but going over the students faces I couldn't help choosing a favorite.

Leda and Spica are both strong fighters and they would do anything you tell them to, but that's sometimes the problem. In their sparing matches they both would continuously go after their opponents until they have the decisive victory. Sometimes they would put someone in the medical hut to recover for a couple of days.

I've been sensing a strange aura around the Sanctuary in Greece and I'm worried of what might become of that. The only reassurance I have is that Athena is there, and would put a stop to it if things would get out of hand. But, that doesn't mean that it would be stopped before things started to happen.

June is one of my most reliable students, and the only female here on the island. She is strong, fast, cunning, and one of the most powerful women that I've had the pleasure of meeting. She's training to become the Chameleon Saint, the other Bronze Cloth that can be awarded here. June frequently helps out with the other's training, especially one in particular.

Shun, the most sensitive of the trainees here, is the one I'm having the most trouble with. He isn't a discipline problem, in fact he never got into any trouble that I've had to punish him for, but ever since he got here three years ago he hasn't changed the others mind of his worth of the Andromeda Cloth.

When he first arrived on the island he wouldn't stop crying and saying something about a nii-san. He would always get scared whenever it came to his turn to spare the others and would always end up getting hurt because of it. Even now when it came to sparing the others, he wouldn't throw a punch, kick, or anything offensive. It was always blocking and ending up on the ground being pummeled by the others until either me or June stepped in.

I wish that I knew what it was that would bring out his potential. He was more sensitive, but by no means weaker then the others. I can tell that he has amazing power, but he never reached into it.

His eyes would speak the most about him. His eyes are so full of warm, kind, and gentle feelings that could only be rivaled by Athena herself. I could safely say that he's the purest human you ever will meet.

There was a knock at the entrance as June stood in the doorway. "Master Albiore?"

"Sorry I'm late, June. Can you tell the others that they have the day off. I need some time to think about something."

"Is it about Shun?" June asked, her voice laced with unhidden hope.

"No, it's about all of you," I said sternly, knowing she would understand the hidden meaning. "Please go tell the others so they're not waiting long."

"Yes, sir." June bowed her head respectively before running back toward the training area.

I blew out a breath in frustration. June never made it a secret that she wanted Shun to quit trying to become a Saint and go home. June cared about him, more then she's cared about anyone, so she has tried to convince him that he shouldn't be here. I thought about telling him that he could go home once, but then I saw him talking to June about it.

When Shun told her that he wasn't going anywhere without the Andromeda Cloth, there was so much strength and determination in his voice and posture that I made a vow right there to help him as much as I can through it. Though ultimately it would be up to his own power. Those words comforted me a little too. The way Shun said it like that, that he said that he would gain the Andromeda Cloth and not just a Cloth, relived me that he wasn't just doing it for his brother. He has a purpose, and he knows it.

I stood up and headed out the door to go to the cliffs overlooking the ocean around Andromeda Island. I passed through the training ground to see if June had given my instruction yet when I found her off in the distance, seemingly looking at nothing since her mask has hidden her face, while Leda and Spica were talking amongst themselves.

"I'm going to be the strongest Andromeda there ever was. Nobody will be able to touch me," Leda proudly announced.

"Yeah, you won't even get a chance to wear my Cloth," Spica scoffed. "I'm going to have enough strength that no one would even dare to challenge me."

I walked faster so they could have their talk privately, no matter how ridiculous their ideals of what true strength is.

I reached the highest summit along the shore in just a matter of minutes to find Shun on the ground sitting against a boulder. I thought it was strange that he wasn't with June, but the slump in her shoulders probably meant that she lost an argument against Shun's determination again.

As I got a closer look, I could see the adoration in his eyes as tears came down and dropped on the frame he was holding. It must be the one of him and his older brother. He said it was taken after their mother had died when Ikki had found an orphanage they could stay in, and a couple of years before a man named Kido found them. From that one image I could see why Shun admires his brother so much and, from the way Ikki's holding Shun like he'll go off on the next person who gets near him, Ikki cares just as much for Shun.

There was a crunch of gravel as I got closer and Shun's head snapped up. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Albiore sensei," he greeted.

"Good morning, Shun," I replied. "It's a nice day out, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," Shun agreed, looking out at the gently rolling waves and the clear blue skies with a contented smile. It's amazing that I thought that someone as sensitive as Shun would end up regretting setting foot on Andromeda Island, but instead he thinks of it as a second home, even though he doesn't like the weather.

"So did you talk to June?" Shun's smile turned to a frown as he looked at his feet and clutched the picture to his chest.

"Yes, sir," he replied quietly.

"Are you going?" I asked even if I knew the answer.

"No, sir."

"Are you upset with her?"

"I wish that I could explain it right to make her understand," Shun confided. "When we found out where we were going to be sent to, I was the one who was supposed to be sent to Death Queen Island. Ikki had insisted that he would go there in my place once he found out how horrible it was supposed to be. How can I let my nii-san experience hell just to go back and tell him that I quit anyway?"

"It must be hard for you. To have nobody understand how you feel."

"A little bit, but there was something else. Before we separated, Ikki had told me that through all of our trials and hardships we'll find ourselves, and we'll understand who we were truly meant to be. I'm not exactly sure if I found myself entirely yet, but if I keep looking I'll uncover something new everyday."

"Your brother seems to know what he's talking about." Especially since, the last I knew, Ikki was only nine when they last saw each other.

"Yes, he does," Shun said proudly. I looked at him a moment and noticed the distinctive shine in his eyes when he talk about his older brother.

My thoughts suddenly went back to the one's I had at my desk. "Shun, may I ask you something?"

"Yes, sir," Shun answered curiously.

"Why is it you specifically wanted the Andromeda Cloth?" Out of all of the Bronze Cloths you could get here on the island, the Andromeda is the most well known and also the most important. But, it is also the most dangerous to attain since the final test is the Sacrifice Ceremony that no one has survived in hundreds of years.

Shun looked down as he thought about the question for a second then lifted his head to look me in the eyes. "When we were younger, nii-san would read me some stories whenever I was really upset about something. Sometimes he would read Greek mythology about the heroes like Hercules who was known for his great strength and courage and for his performance in 12 near-impossible tasks. Even Perseus who was known for slaying Medusa. My favorite story that he ever read to me was the one about Princess Andromeda. Her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, was a very proud women who boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was as beautiful as the Sea Nymphs, so Poseidon had sent a terrible monster and said that it will stop hurting people if the princess was offered as a sacrifice for her mother's deeds. So she gave herself up to save her parents, her people, and some that she probably never knew. She probably wasn't trained for combat, she never defeated some evil beast, and most likely she was some normal human who was supposed to grow up, get married, and live her happily ever after. Even though she was a normal human, she saved millions of lives, she was a real hero. I always wanted to be like that. To be able to know that I'm human, with human limitations, but if someone's life could be better because I once lived, I'd be the happiest person there ever was."

I sat there on the boulder, staring at Shun while focusing on what he was saying. While the others thought that heroes were the many brave strong men with great courage, Shun thought of the one women who cared about her people, people that she might not have even known, enough that she gave her life to end their suffering.

"Shun!" June suddenly called, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Shun, I made lunch. You want to go down to the shore?"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Shun called back while getting to his feet. "Please excuse me, Albiore sensei."

"I just have one more question. Shun, what is true strength?"

"The ability to protect those you give your heart to. Whether it's family, friends, or someone that you will never see in your lifetime, and for Saints the goddess Athena. Those whom you cherish gives you the strength to overcome any obstacle," he replied wholeheartedly.

"Thank you, Shun."

"It was no problem. Thank you for your time, sensei." Shun bowed once before he took off to the rocky shores to catch up to June before he paused a moment to look at me in the eyes. "Sensei!"

"Yes, Shun."

"I'll earn the Andromeda Cloth. Not somebody who just looks like me."

* * *

{Three Years Later}

At my spot on the cliffs I could see June by the docks waving goodbye as Shun's boat was leaving for the mainland where he would catch the next plane headed for Japan. June made sure to take him for a walk around the island before he left, and I actually wondered if it was more so that she could be with him a little while longer.

She needn't worry about whether or not she'll see him again. Shun has personally promised her that he'll be back to visit and asked me if it would be ok if he invited his brother with him. Of course after the six years of Shun praising Ikki, I eventually grew curious of him so I gave Shun my consent.

From what Shun had told me, it was Ikki who had raised him since both of their parents died when he was only a year old. I could say that Ikki was literally everything to him. From a parent, a brother, and a best friend, Ikki was the one who taught him right and wrong (though I couldn't even begin to imagine Shun doing anything bad) and raised him, even though Ikki himself was very young when he took on that role.

I looked out at the sea as Shun's boat had gone further into the horizon. Standing there as inch by inch Shun had gone further from the island, I couldn't help but to compare him to the little seven year old that had arrived what seems like an eternity ago, and yet it somehow feels like it was yesterday. That scared, timid, little boy had turned into the finest young man that I have ever had the honor of meeting and I'm proud to be able to say that I had the pleasure to have trained him.

A smile came across my face as I thought that after all these years he remains the same. The light in his eyes has never dimmed, still showing the love and trust he gives so freely. He's still caring, compassionate, trustworthy, has the most gentle and understanding personality, and a heart of pure gold.

There's also differences in Shun too. Timid to brave, and scared to confident, but I could feel that they weren't real differences. They had only become more pronounced over the years. As Shun had said a while ago. "I don't think people can actually change. Like how the sky can go from vivid colors in the dawn, a calm blue in the afternoon, to a dark background for the stars. Some people look up and see a change, I look up and see that it's still the sky that has the potential to be vibrant, calm, or to able to help something else shine brighter then it has before.

"I believe people have the same potential, but whether we choose to stand out, or let someone else have the spotlight, we're still ourselves and we have the potential for anything else, but it's sometimes a hidden potential that we need to discover and draw out over time."

As Shun finally got out of sight, June had excused herself to go back to the living area. She promised me earlier that she'll check to see if Leda had cooled down about his loss yet. I blew out a breath in frustration. Fuming over a loss like this, especially when it is your own that had beat you, is the behavior of a toddler not a teenage Saint. If I hear from June that he's still sulking about it I'll just have to do something about it. Like withholding his Cloth until I think suitable.

After all that's happened, I'm thankful that my fears were fading, though not disappearing. The new Bronze Saints, Leda (maybe), Spica, June, and the others will be residing here on Andromeda Island under my protection, Athena's new Andromeda Saint Shun will be going off toward his home with his brother, but there will be a time where they will have to go out and protect the goddess of wisdom and battle.

I've had my worries about the others, but they were always worse for the sensitive Andromeda Saint until those few moments alone before June came and walked him to the waterfront.

* * *

{Flashback}

"Albiore sensei," Shun called as he finally came up from behind me. "I'm going back to Japan now. Thank you very much for your guidance over the past six years."

"Shun, there's something I've been meaning to discuss," I said without looking around to him. He had sounded surprised and a little curious as I continued without waiting for a reply. "You passed the Test of Sacrifice with superb form, even though you were on the verge of dying, and now you are a Saint. But I'm not convinced that your Cosmos suddenly awoke during the Sacrifice Ceremony." I waited a moment, trying to think of the best way put my suspicions into words. There was a silence behind me, but I only took that as Shun knowing where I was getting at.

"Shun, you've always been aware of your Cosmos haven't you? You did everything possible to avoid hurting your adversaries and allowed yourself to get pummeled." And he only fought when he knew he couldn't avoid it if he wanted the Cloth of Andromeda.

"Exactly, I hate fighting and I despise harming others," Shun confirmed. "Sensei, in the last six years of your tutelage my Cosmos has grown considerably."

"Just as I had suspected." I could always feel an enormous power emanating from Shun, but he would never release it in the fear of harming the others, the people who he is proud to call his friends.

"But in the beginning I wasn't sure of myself," Shun continued in a serious voice. "Then I thought that if I want to see my nii-san and test my strength I have to try the Test of Sacrifice."

"Is that so, Shun?" I said as I turned around to finally see him face to face.

"All thanks to your counseling, sensei. Before leaving Andromeda Island, I want to show sensei… my true strength!" Shun finished as he got into a fighting stance.

His Cosmos steadily, but rapidly grown to an enormous level to where it made a static charge in the air until it made a lightning effect around him. After a couple of moments Shun leaped off the ground and focused his large Cosmos in his right hand, releasing it in midair. The energy was very concentrated to where the circumference wasn't any bigger then his fist, but I had felt the power contained in it first hand as it barely grazed my armor on my right arm.

{End flashback}

* * *

Yes, Shun can be a extremely powerful warrior. I have no doubt that he will be able to surpass me someday. With that kind of Cosmo he could easily hurt anyone that he wishes, but I never flinched away from his Cosmos as it grazed me and went into the cliff where June and I had watch Shun's test. Because I knew the meaning behind the words.

"Before leaving Andromeda Island, I want to show sensei… my true strength." In other words. "This is my power given to me by the ones that I gave my heart to, the power that I will use to protect the ones that I will give my life for." Shun's older brother Ikki, June and myself, the rest of the people from the island, the people from this world, and the goddess Athena, we all had a part in Shun's cosmos. With every new bond, that Cosmo will turn more powerful with the need to protect those precious ones.

With that demonstration I no longer worried whether or not Shun would make it. With Shun's true strength, he can face any adversary without the protection of the Nebula Chains as long as the ones he cherishes continues to give his heart strength to succeed.

I turned to head back to the others after a couple of moments, silently promising to give Shun all of my strength when it comes to a time where he'll need it, and I know that Shun will succeed. And just like Andromeda, he'll save the world with his true strength .

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Just in case some of you didn't understand, when Shun said the line, "I'll earn the Andromeda Cloth, not somebody who just looks like me." Shun was saying that he won't change who he is just to get the armor. It's like the saying, "is the race worth winning if you lose yourself getting to the finish line?" Of coarse the answer is no. **


End file.
